Talent galore! Meredith Craft Festival draws artists, shoppers

Sunday

May 30, 2010 at 3:15 AMMay 30, 2010 at 5:58 AM

By VICTORIA GUAYvguay@citizen.com

MEREDITH — Luring locals and holiday weekenders alike with the smell of kettle corn, the sound of music and a colorful array of handcrafted clothing, jewelry artwork and decorations, the 19th annual Memorial Day Weekend Craft Festival got under way Saturday.

The Festival, which has no admission and is located at the Mill Falls Marketplace, runs today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Monday (Memorial Day) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Festival is put on by Castleberry Fairs and Festivals, of Rochester.

Organizers said they were pleased with the turnout Saturday, though some vendors thought attendance was a bit down.

Diana Snee of Raymond, Maine, who operates Designs by Diana for more than 30 years with her husband, Gary, said traffic seemed slow Saturday afternoon but posited that, because the weather was warm and it wasn't raining, most people were out enjoying the lake.

Snee and her husband make dried floral decorations, faux taxidermy, and nautical-themed knickknacks.

"I started at a flower show, doing designs, then I started my own business," Snee said.

She said and her husband operate the business full time and go to craft shows and festivals from Maine down to Florida and back during the year.

The couple has been coming to the Festival in Meredith for approximately 10 years.

"We like the area, the show is usually well-attended and we like restaurants and shops," Snee said.

Steve and Leisha Heller, from Randolph, Vt., were another husband and wife duo selling their wares at the craft festival.

They spent the day Saturday demonstrating how their homemade skin softener, Sea Silk, works.

It's a product they make from a recipe that was sold to them by a friend, and it is a mixture of Dead Sea salt and a blend of 10 essential oils.

Leisha Heller said she and her husband sell the product at craft fairs and festivals on weekends and during the week, they run a concrete foundation business.

Those at the fair, many of them visiting the area from other states, also enjoyed the atmosphere and surrounding amenities of the Festival.

Jewel Dumont of Dunstable, Mass., and her daughter, Kristel Herman of Westford, Mass., were visiting their family seasonal home in Meredith and couldn't let the long weekend pass without checking out the craft festival.

"I come just about every year," Dumont said. "I like to see the interesting and unique things they have here. Besides, it a beautiful day and a nice way to the spend the afternoon."

The Kranc family, which includes husband and wife Herman and Andrea and their three children, Mathew, 6, Chelsea, 9, and Zak, 12, hails from Colchester, Conn., but were up for the weekend visiting the seasonal home of Andrea Kranc's parents.

Andrea Kranc said they make a ritual out of visiting the Memorial Day Weekend Craft Festival.

"This weekend is the first time we come up to New Hampshire for the year," Andrea Kranc said.

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